Another Great Meal at Steve and Cookie’s in Margate NJ

Once again we enjoyed another great meal at Steve and Cookie’s in Margate NJ. It has become a tradition for Brian, Eve, Steve and I to dine at Steve and Cookie’s every time we visit the Jersey shore.

You have arrived at Steve and Cookie’s by the Bay!

Adorable bunny rabbit on the lawn of Steve and Cookie’s.

When a restaurant is as consistently good as Steve and Cookie’s it becomes one of those places that you have to go to every time you get to visit the area. Steve and I have a few of those places in our favorite cities. In New Orleans, it’s Brigtsen’s and Bayona. In Charleston, it’s Husk and S.N.O.B. And at the Jersey shore, it’s Steve and Cookie’s and Chef Vola’s.

One of the things we love about Steve and Cookie’s in Margate NJ is the welcoming homey feel to the restaurant. Way back when it was a house and now it is a very special home to great good created with the freshest local ingredients possible. On this particular visit, the four of us shared two appetizers and both were spectacular. The Meat and Cheese Plate was amply filled with flavorful charcuterie, delectable cheeses, a great assortment of salty olives, a creamy aioli, crusty bread. We polished off every morsel. We also all but licked the plate that held our tomato salad. Our visit was late summer and tomatoes were at their ripest and juiciest. Those juices mingled with the Sherry vinaigrette to create a heavenly nectar fit for the gods. Topped off with a tangle of crispy fried shallots and you have the perfect contrast of textures with the tomatoes.

For our entrées, Steve had what he always has, the seafood pan roast which you can see in my previous post about Steve and Cookie’s. But the rest of us veered off and tried new things. I had the fabulous ribeye steak which was cooked to perfection and gave me the opportunity to nibble the meat off that beautiful bone. the creamy and garlicky smashed potatoes also had some potato chunks for texture. And the red wine reduction and crumbled gorgonzola rounded out the flavors perfectly. Brian enjoyed his pork chop and surprise me by not substituting white potatoes for the sweets. We all know that pork and sweet potatoes are a match made in foodie heaven so I was happy he realized that. He was pleased with himself for sticking with the chef’s choice. Eve’s fish was everything you would want in a fish entrée. The skin was rendered crisp on the grill but the flesh was flaky and full of flavor. The vegetables were a rainbow of colors. And the citrusy broth brought everything together beautifully. It is dishes like these that draw us back year after year!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. Oh my!

And yes, we did save room for that Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. It is just too good to pass on! Four forks, please!